First Circuit Courtyard

2 days in a row!  Normally I wouldn’t have reported about the owners’ meeting except that it had the insurance tip and my rather impulsive decision to run on a board/committee.  Am still mulling over the wisdom or dumbness of that, but it is just for a year, and a year speeds on by.

Back in October of last year, Aunty went to an auction for one of the units at the Ala Moana Hotel.  Her bid price was beat by $1000 by a woman and her son.  Judicial foreclosure auctions consist of 2 parts – the first was this initial auction.  After a period of time, the results must be confirmed before a judge, at which time additional bids can come in to challenge the last bid price.

Today, Aunty went to the confirmation hearing of the unit that she was beat on – not to challenge, but to learn about the process.  If Aunty did want to challenge the last bid price ($156,000) from the October auction, she would have to bid at least 5% more ($7,800 more = $163,800) and have at least 10% of the bid up to price in the form of cash or cashier’s check as proof to the commissioner in charge.

This unit was well worth $163,800 because prices have been appreciating in the Ala Moana Hotel.  Okay, to be absolutely honest, Aunty was running a little late for the 9:00 a.m. hearing at the First Circuit Court and didn’t have time to get a cashier’s check just in case she had a change of heart and wanted to challenge.  However, this wasn’t too much of a downer because Aunty also remembered that the lady who bid was an older woman that looked nice, and not really someone she wanted to challenge.

So Aunty parks at her credit union across the street, runs toward the Court building on Punchbowl Street, gets a little lost on the 4th floor, and enters a very small courtroom full of people.  Seeing the commissioner in charge of this auction, Aunty squats next to her, and we wait for the judge, who was late.  This confirmation hearing time was for several judicial auctions, not just the one that Aunty was interested in.

The first case called up was for a property in Waianae.  The bailiff or judge read off the details, the plaintiff (I suppose that is the one who won the initial auction) acknowledged their presence and the commissioner in charge of the sale stood next to them before the judge.  The judge then asked if there were any challenges to the property (i.e. any bids over the last bid price), and someone in the bandstand raised their hand.  The judge then called for a delay in that case until the interested parties conferred and met outside of the courtroom.  Those people stepped out, and a mini auction between any of the interested parties took place, the winner of that auction would then get to be confirmed by the judge later in the proceedings that day.

So exciting!

Up next, was the Ala Moana Hotel unit that Aunty had her eye on.  The winning bidders must have hired an attorney to represent them because a well suited young man stood as plaintiff for them next to the commissioner, and when the judge asked if there were any challengers to their bid, no one raised their hand.  That was a surprise, but good for the nice looking lady and her son.  The sale was confirmed, and the property would be theirs after all the funding, escrow, etc. were finalized.

Aunty followed the commissioner out of the room, and then saw the woman and her son.  She looked like she had aged 10 years.  Aunty was glad that she did not challenge them.

So, that is the auction update from start to almost finish.  It took almost 3 1/2 months for the confirmation hearing to be held from the auction in October.

Aunty will now feel a bit more confident in bidding at these – for the right property at the right price.  It was a really good learning experience.